Five hikers declared dead in Colorado rockslide

Oct. 1, 2013
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A Flight for Life Helicopter rises above backed up traffic Monday Sept. 30, 2013, in south-central Colorado. Roads were closed as emergency personnel work to aid hikers trapped after a rock slide on the trail to Agnes Vaille Falls. / James Redmond, AP

by William M. Welch, USA TODAY, USATODAY

by William M. Welch, USA TODAY, USATODAY

Five hikers were trapped by a rockslide in the Colorado mountains and declared dead Monday, authorities said.

Chaffee County Sheriff Pete Palmer said the five were trapped by large boulders, some the size of a car, and that rescuers concluded their situation was not survivable, county spokeswoman Laura Smith said.

Rescuers removed an injured teenage girl from the rockslide but were unable to reach the five missing hikers.

The girl, 13, was pulled from the debris with injuries Monday afternoon and flown by helicopter to Children's Hospital in Aurora, Colo. The sheriff's department said her condition was unknown. Calls to the hospital were not returned.

Rescue and recovery crews backed away from the slide debris late in the afternoon because of concerns it was highly unstable, another county spokesman, Dave Cotton, said.

He said county authorities brought in mining engineers to evaluate the debris and make recommendations on further efforts to recover the hikers. Recovery efforts could resume Tuesday.

"We will go back in as soon as the area can be declared safe for the search teams," Palmer said.

Authorities said the initial emergency call said there could have been as many as seven hikers involved, but that they now believe the number was six, including the evacuated child.

Another hiker witnessed the rock slide and called 911, the sheriff said.

The names of the dead were being withheld pending notification of family, the sheriff said.

The slide occurred approximately 1 mile above the trailhead on the trail that climbs to the Agnes Vaille Falls when the slide was triggered. The hiking trail is highly used by local residents and tourists.

Like much of the Colorado mountains, the area has received heavy amounts of rain in recent weeks and that may have been a contributing factor to unstable conditions in the area, although the exact cause remains unknown, Palmer said.

The scene is near Mount Princeton and the tiny town of Nathrop, Colo. The trail is off County Road 162.